Mark Parton
Mark Stuart Parton (born 24 September 1966) is an Australian politician who is currently serving as leader of the Canberra Liberals and Leader of the Opposition of the Australian Capital Territory since November 2025. He has been a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly since 2016, representing the electorate of Brindabella. He was a long-running local radio announcer on 2CC before entering politics.
Mark Parton | |
|---|---|
 Parton in 2024 | |
| 16th Leader of the Opposition of the Australian Capital Territory | |
| Assumed office 10 November 2025 | |
| Deputy | Deborah Morris |
| Preceded by | Leanne Castley |
| 13th Leader of the Canberra Liberals | |
| Assumed office 10 November 2025 | |
| Deputy | Deborah Morris |
| Preceded by | Leanne Castley |
| 8th Speaker of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 6 November 2024 – 10 November 2025 | |
| Deputy | Andrew Braddock |
| Preceded by | Joy Burch |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Braddock (acting) |
| Member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for Brindabella | |
| Assumed office 15 October 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Val Jeffery |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mark Stuart Parton 24 September 1966 |
| Party | Liberal |
| Profession | Radio broadcaster |
| Website | www.markparton.com.au |
Mark Stuart Parton (born 24 September 1966) is an Australian politician who is currently serving as leader of the Canberra Liberals and Leader of the Opposition of the Australian Capital Territory since November 2025.[1] He has been a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly since 2016, representing the electorate of Brindabella.[2] He was a long-running local radio announcer on 2CC before entering politics.[3][4]
Political career
[edit]On 19 April 2023, Parton became one of two ACT Liberals to announce his support for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, putting him at odds with his party colleague Jeremy Hanson and federal Liberal leader Peter Dutton. He had previously leaned towards a No vote in the referendum though changed his mind after discussions with the Noongar communities in Western Australia. Parton himself has Noongar heritage, but "[does] not identify as Aboriginal".[5]
Following the 2024 election, Parton was elected as Speaker[6][7] and on 10 November 2025, following the resignation of incumbent Leanne Castley, he was elected leader of the Canberra Liberals.[1]
Personal life
[edit]Parton was born on 24 September 1966 in York, Western Australia.[2] He is married, with three children and three step-children.[8][9]
Before entering parliament, he ran a marketing business. He had worked in commercial radio for 30 years, starting at age 17 in 6AM in Northam, Western Australia, and working in several different states, with the last 16 years in breakfast programs in Canberra on 2CC.[8][10][11]
He has long been aware of having Aboriginal heritage, but in 2022 researched his family history to find the details.[12]
Parton has admitted to having a caffeine addiction.[13]
Parton is a frequent user of the social media platform TikTok,[14] and was briefly ejected from ACT's parliament after releasing a video that was alleged to breach parliamentary filming rules.[15]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Gore, Charlotte; Travers, Penny (11 November 2025). "Mark Parton elected as Canberra Liberals leader as Leanne Castley steps down, Jeremy Hanson resigns as deputy". ABC News. Archived from the original on 22 November 2025. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Mark Parton". Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- ^ "Mark Parton". Canberra Liberals. 21 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ Green, Antony (25 October 2016). "Brindabella - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ "Canberra Liberals MLA Mark Parton says he will vote yes to an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, putting him at odds with party colleague". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 April 2023. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
- ^ Bladen, Lucy (6 November 2024). "Parton elected as the Assembly's new speaker". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ^ Bell, Patrick (7 November 2024). "After an internal tussle, the ACT Greens decide to step away from a coalition government with Labor". ABC News. Archived from the original on 6 November 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2025.
- ^ a b "About Mark". Canberal Liberals. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ "Parton's childhood dream fulfilled". Riotact. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ "Mark Parton". CBR City News. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ Mark Parton (8 December 2015). "Parton / Goodbye, good mornings". CBR City News. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ "Opinion: Mark Parton's Aboriginal journey". Canberra Weekly. 30 May 2022. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ "Which ACT politicians have tried cannabis, MDMA and acid?". The Canberra Times. 24 January 2019.
- ^ "Mark Parton MLA (@markparton) TikTok | Watch Mark Parton MLA's Newest TikTok Videos". TikTok. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
- ^ "Liberal politician kicked out of ACT's parliament over three seconds of a TikTok video". ABC News. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2021.